1940s Fontana Arte Mid-Century Modern Brass and Glass Hourglass Wall Sconce
View Similar Items
1940s Fontana Arte Mid-Century Modern Brass and Glass Hourglass Wall Sconce
About the Item
- Creator:Pietro Chiesa (Designer),Fontana Arte (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 11.42 in (29 cm)Width: 5.91 in (15 cm)Depth: 4.73 in (12 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1940
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Aci Castello, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2394326375382
Fontana Arte
Best known for its elegant and innovative vintage lighting fixtures, the Milan-based firm Fontana Arte pioneered one of the key features of 20th-century and contemporary Italian design: the union of artistry and industry wrought by partnerships between creative talents — chiefly architects — and entrepreneurial businesses. Fontana Arte is further distinguished by having had as artistic director, in succession, four of Italy’s most inventive modernist designers: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, French transplant Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti.
The bread and butter of the glassmaking company that Luigi Fontana founded in 1881 was plate-glass panels for the construction industry. In 1930, Fontana met Ponti — then the artistic director of the Richard Ginori ceramics workshop and the editor of the influential magazine Domus — at a biannual design exhibition that became the precursor to today’s Milan Design Triennale, and the two hatched an idea for a furniture and housewares firm. Fontana Arte was incorporated in 1932 with Ponti as its chief of design. He contributed several lamps that remain among the company’s signature works, including the orb-atop-cone Bilia table lamp and the 0024 pendant — a stratified hanging sphere.
The following year, Fontana Arte partnered with the influential Milan studio glassmaker and retailer Pietro Chiesa, who took over as artistic director. Chiesa’s designs for lighting — as well as for tables and items including vases and ashtrays — express an appreciation for fluidity and simplicity of line, as seen in works such as his flute-shaped Luminator floor lamp and the 1932 Fontana table — an arched sheet of glass that is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Six years after Chiesa’s 1948 death, the École des Beaux Arts–trained Max Ingrand took over as head of design at Fontana Arte. Ingrand brought a similarly expressive formal sensibility to wares such as lamps and mirrors, but he also had a masterful eye for the manipulation of glass surfaces — whether they be cut, frosted, acid-etched or sand-blasted. His classic design is the Fontana table lamp of 1954, which has a truncated cone shade and curved body, both of which are made of pure, chic white-frosted glass.
Following Ingrand, the often-audacious Italian architect Gae Aulenti served as the company’s artistic director from 1979 to 1996, and while she generally insisted that furnishings take second place aesthetically to architecture, she made an exception for Fontana Arte pieces such as the Tavolo con Ruote series of glass coffee and dining tables on wheels, bold lighting pieces such as the Parola series and the Giova, a combination flower vase and table lamp. As a key incubator of modern design under Aulenti’s tenure, Fontana Arte remained true to its long-held commitment — creating objects that have never been less than daring.
Find vintage Fontana Arte lighting fixtures such as pendants, table lamps and more on 1stDibs.
- 1940s Fontana Arte Attributed Brass and Curved Glass PendantBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in Aci Castello, ITAmazing four-light pendant attributed to Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte, curved glass, fully restored electrical parts, just little chip showed in a photo, rare hanging light fixture...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- A 1950s Mid-Century Modern Italian Wall Sconce in the Manner of Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Max IngrandLocated in Aci Castello, ITThree lights brass and opaline white glass mid-century modern wall sconce designed and manufactured in Italy in the Fifties, original condition...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- 1940s Art Deco Brass and Shell Shaped Glass Italian Wall SconcesBy Pietro ChiesaLocated in Aci Castello, ITThree Art Deco wall sconces designed and manufactured in Italy in 1940 sold one by one. Glasses are in perfect conditions, brass it's in original patina. They work both 110-240 volts...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Art Deco Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Two 1950s Mid-Century Modern Brass, Green Metal and Glass Italian Wall SconcesBy Pietro ChiesaLocated in Aci Castello, ITA pair of Mid-Century Modern brass, green painted metal, and glass two-light wall sconces, designed and manufactured in Italy in the fifties, are in working order and need two regular E14 bulbs for each sconce. These wall sconces are a type of vintage lighting fixture...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass, Metal
- 1960s Fontana Arte Style Heavy Glass and Steel Space Age Italian Wall SconceBy VECA, Fontana ArteLocated in Aci Castello, ITAn high quality heavy verde Nilo glass and steel wall sconce designed and manufactured in Italy in the Space Age Era, it's in very good conditions and in working order, it needs a re...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Space Age Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- 1950s Mid-Century Modern Brass and Glass Huge Wall SconceLocated in Aci Castello, ITThis is a large brass and glass wall light made in Italy in the 1950s, complete in all parts. It works with both 110 and 220 Volt and needs regular e14 bulbsCategory
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Italian Midcentury Fontana Arte Glass Brass Sconces Wall Lamps, 1940sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Reggio Emilia, ITItalian Mid-Century Modern design Fontana Arte big sconces / wall lamps with brass frame and frosted glass diffusers, 1940s Please note that the lamps are original of the period and...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
On Hold$5,371 / set - Italian Fontana Arte Deco Wall Sconce Sculptural Brass Frame Design Italy 1940sBy Pietro Chiesa, Fontana ArteLocated in Chula Vista, CAItalian brass framed wall sconce Single Sculptural Art Deco Wall Sconce constructed in Brass. Italy circa 1950s Frame with three strips of brass securing bubble art glass diffuser...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Pietro Chiesa, Pair of Wall Lights, Brass, Paper, Fontana Arte, Italy, 1940sBy Fontana Arte, Pietro ChiesaLocated in High Point, NCA pair of sizable six-armed, brass wall lights with parchment paper lampshades, designed by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte, Italy, 1940s. Shade dimensions : 2.5" x 5" x 5" lit...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte Model 1537 Wall Lamp, Italy 1940sBy Fontana Arte, Pietro ChiesaLocated in Naples, ITWall lamp model 1537 from 1940 by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte, made of opaline glass and brass. A highly refined design by one of the greatest masters of lighting, this exceptiona...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Fontana Arte Pair of Sconces in Beveled Glass, Brass and Mirror, Italy, 1940sBy Fontana ArteLocated in Roma, ITFabulous pair of sconces in beveled glass and brass with an internal back mirror. These gorgeous wall lamps were designed in Italy during the 1940s and are attributed to Fontana Arte...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Pair of 1940s Model #1537 Sconces by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana ArteBy Fontana Arte, Pietro ChiesaLocated in Glendale, CAPair of 1940s Model #1537 Sconces by Pietro Chiesa for Fontana Arte. Executed in opaline glass and metal in Italy, circa late 1930s / early 1940s. A highly refined design by one of t...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsMetal